Gunther von Wullersleben

Hochmeister Gunther von Wullersleben "the Chivalrous" (1205-12??) was the Hochmeister (Grand Master) of the Knights Teutonic from 1249 until his death. During his reign, he conquered most of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and also defeated the Livonians, making alliances with the Kingdom of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire.

Biography
Gunther von Wullersleben hailed from a ministerialis family from Hersfeld Abbey in Hesse, central Germany. When Heinrich von Hohenloe died in 1249, Wullersleben was working in Acre, and was elected his successor as Grand Master (Hochmeister).

In 1250 AD, when he was elected, the Northern Crusades were going unwell for all parties. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania faced either conversion to Christianity or a dark future with war against the Knights Teutonic; the Kingdom of Poland, who had invited the knights to fight the Lithuanians were now regretting it; the sleeping giant of Novgorod was awaiting any signs of danger; the Kingdom of Denmark was preparing to expand its empire into Scandinavia; the Holy Roman Empire was enduring years of fighting with the Papal States; the Mongol Empire was in the south of Poland, clinging to their empire in Europe forged in bloodshed at Leignitz nine years before; and the Teutonic Knights were fighting a series of wars with the Samogitians, Livonians, Prussians, and Lithuanians.

Gunther moved to Marienburg, the Teutonic capital, where he mobilized armies that would be sent into battle. Most of his tenure as Hochmeister was spent consolidating the realm, as the other brave members of the organization expanded the state.